United States v. Barta

The Court has received the presentence investigation report (PSR) in this case. The defendant has objected (filing 48) and moved for a downward departure and variance (filings 52 and 53).

IT IS ORDERED:

1. The Court will consult and follow the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to the extent permitted and required by United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), and subsequent cases. In this regard, the Court gives notice that, unless otherwise ordered, it will:

(a) give the advisory Guidelines respectful consideration within the context of each individual case and will filter the Guidelines' advice through the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, but will not afford the Guidelines any particular or "substantial" weight;

(b) resolve all factual disputes relevant to sentencing by the greater weight of the evidence and without the aid of a jury;

(c) impose upon the United States the burden of proof on all Guidelines enhancements;

(d) impose upon the defendant the burden of proof on all Guidelines mitigators;

(e) depart from the advisory Guidelines, if appropriate, using pre- Booker departure theory; and

(f) in cases where a departure using pre- Booker departure theory is not warranted, deviate or vary from the Guidelines when there is a principled reason justifying a sentence different than that called for by application of the advisory Guidelines, again without affording the Guidelines any particular or "substantial" weight.

2. Barta has objected (filing 48) and moved for a downward departure and variance (filings 52 and 53). Barta's motion for variance will be resolved at sentencing. His objection and motion for departure require some additional discussion.

Barta has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1349. Barta was involved in a conspiracy with his co-defendant and brother-in-law, Dennis Timothy Wood, and an unknown conspirator, known to Barta and Wood only as "Smith." PSR at ¶ 44. Smith would contact a person who had advertised an item for sale on Craigslist and would agree to buy the item for a specific price. Smith would tell the seller that payment would be sent in the form of money orders payable to the seller. Then Smith would cause money orders totaling more than the sale price to be sent to the seller. Smith would contact the seller and explain that he had mistakenly sent too many money orders, and since they were already made payable to the seller, Smith could not take them back. Smith convinced the sellers to agree to deposit all of the money orders, keep the amount needed to pay for the item, and send the excess back to Smith. When the money orders were later determined to be fraudulent, the sellers would lose the amount that had been sent to Smith. PSR at ¶¶ 44-45.

Barta and Wood's role in the scheme was to mail the money orders to the victims. Smith would email the defendants the victims' names and addresses, with instructions on how many money orders to send. Smith also mailed the defendants the counterfeit money orders, typically with the victim's name and amount payable already printed. The defendants would then print envelopes, fill them with the specified number of money orders, and mail them to the victims. Smith would wire transfer about $400 a month to Barta's bank account to pay for envelopes and stamps. There was always some money left over, which Barta and Wood kept for themselves. See PSR at ¶¶ 44-45, 47-49.

The Guidelines in this case provide for a base offense level of 7, with graduated increases based on the amount of loss caused by the defendant. U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(a) & (b); PSR at ¶ 55. For purposes of § 2B1.1(b), loss is calculated as the greater of the actual or intended loss. Actual loss is defined as the "reasonably foreseeable pecuniary harm that resulted from the offense." U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1 cmt. n.3(A)(i). And "reasonably foreseeable pecuniary harm" is further defined as that harm that the ...

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